Ecuador declares emergency in prison system following prison massacre

Ecuador’s President has declared a state of emergency in the prison system following a prison massacre, in which at least 116 people were killed and 80 injured. 

President Guillermo Lasso indicated the prison was not yet entirely secured, and urged inmates' relatives and families to stay away from the area. He also said more bodies might be found in the next few hours.

It will



give the government powers that include deploying police and soldiers inside prisons. The order came a day after bloodshed at the Litoral penitentiary in Guayaquil that officials blamed on gangs linked to international drug cartels fighting for control of the facility. Those killed and injured suffered from injuries resulting from bullets and grenades, according to regional police official.